Scottish punk legends The Exploited have announced that they have signed a worldwide contract with Nuclear Blast, which is home to some of the biggest names in metal and hardcore music. Although no date has been confirmed yet, the band and label have promised that a new The Exploited album will see the light of the day this year (in autumn 2014), making it their first new release since 2003's Fuck The System. Now isn't that something?

Vocalist Wattie Buchan says: "At last, after giving my word four years ago that we would sign to Nuclear Blast, it's now official! For us it's a big deal to be signing to the biggest indie record company in Europe. One of the main reasons we signed to them is the fact that Marcus, the owner, is a big Exploited fan and I know he will give us 100% backing to make the next album as great as the last ones. PS - It WILL be this year sometime! Punk's Not Dead."

Nuclear Blast owner Markus Staiger added: "Having The Exploited sign a deal is a longtime dream coming true. In my youth I listened to hardcore and Punk almost exclusively and The Exploited have been one of my absolute favorites ever since. Records like Punk's Not Dead, Troops Of Tomorrow and later on also Beat The Bastards and Fuck The System have been on heavy rotation constantly. The shows of this band have always been and still are a very special experience. Honest, hard and snotty - just like punk should be. A true highlight for me of course was their performance at the Nuclear Blast HQs on my birthday in 2013. After that the deal has been set via handshakes and we've been celebrating till the break of dawn! Welcome to Nuclear Blast guys, punk's not dead!"

To reduce the time of waiting for the new album, Nuclear Blast Records will re-release the following classics on March 14th, 2014 (March 18th in the US). Stuffed with bonus material, they'll be available as CD digipaks or vinyl in gatefolds: